The Furture of Learning

I realize as my time in CTER draws to a close that continuing professional development and research is necessary in order to stay up to date on the best practice ideas related to technology.  After all, the field is changing daily.  One of the easiest ways to accumulate this knowledge is by attending technology workshops.  Both Ann and Jillian provided wonderful incite about the workshop they visited on November 5^th.  

From their reviews it is obvious that they found The Best Practices in Education seminars rewarding and enjoyed the freebies.  As Ann mentions, it is interesting to think about what the future holds in regards to the role of computers.  Will computers be incorporated into our bodies as one of the presentations questioned?  Will there be any part of our daily lives that are not touched by their influence?

I am also interested in finding ways to incorporate learning games into the curriculum.  It is obvious that our students enjoy video games and with the addition of Wii adults are joining in as well.  If a technology can help a student learn a concept faster, then there is no reason not to consider incorporating it into your curriculum.

I sit here typing this post jealous of the resource book that both Ann and Jillian now have.  If only there was a clearinghouse of educational games and classroom supports that I could pull up each day to apply to my lessons.   Maybe a ranking system could be incorporated in order to help teachers quickly shuffle through the endless options in order to select the best option for their students and classroom.  I hope that a future startup company will create this resource and as an added bonus make it available free of charge!    

Although it can often be more work to prepare for a substitute, these workshops not only demonstrate new technologies but also provide the opportunity to share ideas/thoughts with other educators.  In addition, it takes effort to stay up to date with the future of learning.  Technologies and education theory are always evolving and without putting the extra effort in to stay up to date, the future of education could pass us by.

Thank you for the links and I will be looking into upcoming workshops.

As my two-year CTER experience draws to a close I am again thinking about the future of learning.  I have already posted my thoughts about what the future of learning holds for my students in terms of the delivery of the curriculum.   In terms of my personal education, I begin to debate what is next for me.  How can I best prepare for the future of learning?

This uncertainty has been eating at me due to the fact that I am a planner and like to have an idea of my next step albeit five or even ten years down the road.  At times this is a gift as it forces me to look ahead, while other times it can lead to unnecessary stress.  As of right now, the one thing I know for certain, is that I will take at least a year off before continuing for a second Masters Degree or PHD.  That is where my questions begin…

How do I prepare for the future of education?  I foresee the potential of technology altering the landscape of how we interact and receive education.  As I have experienced firsthand, an online program has the ability to be both informative and interactive.  Online cohorts can be closer then their classroom counterparts while holding each student to a higher accountability standard for participation.

Will our multi-million dollar school buildings be knocked down in exchange for learning at home?  As it is already difficult enough to get some students to school on time, would this option make it more difficult to ensure access to education?  What would happen to the fine and performing arts?  Athletics?  Although this could be a possibility for high schools, elementary and middle schools also act as a childcare setting both monitoring and feeding students while parents are at work.  Requiring parents to remain at home is not an option.  We also are unable to assume that all students have online access from home.    

Since I do not predict the demolition of our school buildings, I need to redirect me focus to creating change within the schools walls.  At this time, I am for the first time in my life debating a Type 75 Administrative degree in order to direct the role of technology throughout a school or district.  I believe a day will come where well off districts hire a technology assistant for each department.  Someone who has experience teaching, expertise in the subject area, and whose responsibilities include aiding and preparing technology related curriculum for teachers within a single department.  This would help to focus the responsibilities and allow the technology employee to create within their area of expertise.  I would enjoy such a position. 

I could also one day leave the classroom to be a technology director in a high school or at the district level.  A radical change from my current responsibilities, yet something that could possibly interest me due to the change I believe I could bring about in my district in regards to technology and instruction.  I will have to research whether any local institutions or online programs are available that focus on Education Technology Administration as I have no desire to become a principal or assistant principal.

If nothing else, I could stick with my old idea of earning a PHD in educational technology and once I have put in my 25 years at the high school level, collect my pension, and continue to keep myself occupied by preparing future teachers at the college level.  As long as I remain healthy, I would like to continue working as a full retirement would bore me… Maybe I will think otherwise 20+ years from now.

As I have a long career ahead, both directions are plausible options as I enjoy learning and the pay increase acts as a great incentive.  I have a lot of research ahead as I attempt to plan my next education opportunity.  Maybe someone out there can direct me to a resource that already outlines these options or can recommend a program!

Over the past year and a half, I have become aware of an array of software, websites, and technology related ideas that could greatly benefit my classroom.  Ideas, software, and applications that could aid in my attempt to close the learning gap, differentiate instruction, and make learning ‘fun.’  The potential and future of educational technology has been maximized by my current course, Analysis on Advanced Learning Technologies.  At no other point in the CTER program, have I struggled with a sense of excitement and unease.

On one hand, I have witnessed first hand the benefits of applications of technology.  I look forward to adding additional means of differentiating learning, sharing and trading ideas with my coworkers, adding a Moodle discussion to my courses, and providing students with the opportunity to create their own digital stories.  Unfortunately, all of my great ideas are slowed by a lack of time.

I am currently teaching in my fourth department in as many years (3 schools and 4 different departments) along with a new curriculum.  Feeling like a first year teacher yet again, I lack the free time needed to create, troubleshoot, and then utilize these technology lessons and resources.  When you add curriculum development, on top of the growing paperwork that schools require, graduate school, and coaching there is even less time available.  Unfortunately, something has to give.

Now don’t get me wrong, realizing the importance of technology, I have saved time by implementing the creations of others.  A simple search of google provides a laundry list of quality webquests, lesson plans, and projects available on a variety of topics.  The ability to recycle the lessons created by our peers is an important skill to possess.  Yet, am I taking advantage of the potential of technology?  Communication opportunities using Moodle, office hours on Eluminate, and the availability of podcasts would all expand the role of the school while providing students with opportunities to interact with Web 2.0 applications.

I realize how far I still have to go, but hope that by remaining in my current department, I will have the luxury of spending a summer designing technology applications for my students.  I strongly believe in the view that if it is important, we will make time.  So far, I have been able to juggle my current responsibilities while maintaining most of my sanity.  If only it was as easy as adding a few more hours to each day.

I created this instructional video to review with my high school students the process for writing a Document Based Essay.  Since we write DBQ Essays once every couple of weeks students tend to forget parts of the assignment and hopefully this mini review will help improve scores.  I’m officially on YouTube!  How crazy.

Instructional Video

For my digital story on Why I Coach Cross Country, I selected the program Scratch.  I was introduced to Scratch in a previous course, but did not have the opportunity to fully experiment with the software at the time.  Realizing the potential of a free workspace where students could create their own video and/or interactive games, I decided to experiment myself.  Not really knowing what to expect I was relieved that the program was relatively easy to learn after visiting the help screen.  The ease of uploading sound and image files also was a major bonus.  In the end, the interface allowed me create an enjoyable, visual addition to my narrative on Why I Coach Cross Country.

To view my digital story select —-> Coaching

Always searching for new methods to assess students, I am excited to offer scratch as an option in my classroom.  I can already envision having my class create mini stories that document a chapter in our text.  Therefore providing students with another method to learn material while mastering a new digital literacy technique.  The program is so flexible that a student would truly only be limited by his/her imagination.

As with everyone’s initiation into new technologies and programs, I had to navigate the technological learning curve.  Although only scratching the surface of the programs potential  I was able to learn basic programming using their help windows.  In addition to video examples, the site offered snippets of command illustrating common tasks, as well as a message board for users to communicate ideas and troubleshoot.  Prematurely celebrating the completion of my video, I again ran into problems when I was unable to ‘share’ my Scratch video.  For one reason or another my video continued to be rejected.

I tried to shrink the file to no avail.  Taking advice from others I created my own account on You Tube before again being rejected as an unreadable file for the program.  After much help from our wonderful tech support, Tony Hursh, we were finally able to track it down to the fact that I improperly copied the HTML source code into the text area.  Many hours later, everything is finally sorted out, my file plays, and I’m left realizing that I passed another hurdle. 

I strongly believe that the future of learning is tied to our acceptance of flexibility.  Flexibility that needs to exist in terms of our planning, curriculum focus, and delivery.  The educational system that has surrounded our school systems has been in place for over a hundred years.  It was developed at a time when good jobs were plentiful and a high school, college, or post graduate degree was not required.  Under such a dated system a variety of students were left behind.  Continuing failures to educate each and every student, no matter their race or socioeconomic class has illustrated the importance of breaking away from the cookie cutter, one size fits all, primary educational system that we have today.  It is time for teachers, administrators, parents, and politicians to try something new.

I have been lucky enough to have taught in two schools that have provided such flexibility while promoting individuality, creativity, and the application of knowledge.  My current school has taken an additional step to alter the educational landscape altogether.  Within its walls, students are being provided with the opportunity to retake their exams, alter their projects, and correct their daily assignments.  (My apologies to those of you who have heard this repeatedly)  Bi-weekly common assessment exams are being utilized in order to catch deficiencies early.   The administration has even taken the change to the community through forums as well as home visits to every student who is deemed high risk.  In this environment, it is no longer acceptable for a student to fail.  Rather, they will be provided multiple opportunities to learn how to ride a bike, no matter how many times they may fall off before mastering the task.

This paradigm shift is far from perfect, and as I have seen in its second year at Bolingbrook High School, it will continue to be altered.  The focus that will not change is the passionate search to find new ways to ensure comprehension no matter the walls that must be scaled along the way.  Curriculum delivery needs to be hands on, interesting, and meaningful to the student if we as teachers expect each student to be motivated to learn.  Motivation will grow, as students realize their potential and become better citizens.   

Although not required, I believe the future of learning will include an ever increasing application of technology.  Just as technology has altered the landscape of how curriculum is presented, it has also changed what knowledge has to be mastered.  Gone are the days of endless memorization of dates, people, and formulas.  Today, we are surrounded by search engines that can quickly provide us with these details on our phones or computers.  Instead, a teacher’s responsibility is to ensure each student has the tool box of skills to engage in critical thinking, converse in conversation, shift through a limitless library of knowledge, and to analyze resources for validity and value.

As I have begun my fourth year of teaching, I am more excited then ever to have the responsibility and privilege of interacting with and educating my students on a daily basis.